Appraiser indicted for alleged forgery

Fort Collins investors say they were duped out of millions in a fraudulent real estate deal.

Nov. 2, 2012

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A Denver real estate appraiser faces five counts of forgery of a commercial instrument for allegedly inflating real estate appraisals as part of a broader plan to defraud a handful of Fort Collins investors out of millions of dollars.

A Weld County grand jury indicted Alexander Kovacs on Oct. 22.

According to the indictment, Kovacs, then working for CB Richard Ellis in Denver, provided false appraisals to inflate the sale price of property being sold by real estate broker Matthew Sysum or Sysum’s companies including Sytech Development, Inc., Solomon Capital, LLC, and Neelou Investments, LLC.

Sysum faces 14 criminal counts of forgery, theft and racketeering in connection with real estate fraud. He is accused of conspiring with Kovacs to overvalue properties he was offering for sale, and also selling land that he did not yet own, with the help of a title company. A 12-day jury trial in Sysum’s case is set to begin Jan. 7, 2013, according to Heath Montgomery, spokesman for the Weld District Attorney’s Office.

Darella Bloch, LandAmerica Transnation Title Insurance Co., faces three counts of theft of $15,000 or more, according to the district attorney’s office, which dismissed one count of false land ownership. Bloch pleaded guilty last year and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 11.

Kovacs’ 11-page indictment paints a complex portrait of Kovacs and Sysum working together on three purchases in Platteville, Kersey and unincorporated Weld County that collectively sold for more than $12 million but were worth much less.

In all five counts, Kovacs appraised the property.

In one count, Kovacs appraised property in Platteville purchased by a limited liability company that included Fort Collins doctors George Girardi, Richard Alessi and Robert Benz. According to the indictment, First National Bank of Las Animas financed the $3.3 million purchase in May 2007, in cooperation with Colorado East Bank and Trust.

The appraisal listed Neelou Investments as the property owner, but Neelou didn’t buy the property until after the appraisal was completed, the indictment states. The contract sales price between Neelou and the real owner of the property was not included in the appraisal, according to the indictment.

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In an interview Friday, Girardi said the limited liability company lost a couple million dollars on the deal. The LLC paid $4.8 million for the property and financed $3.3 million, Girardi said. According to the indictment, First National said it would not have provided financing if it knew Neelou had not yet purchased the property or if it was aware of the purchase price Neelou contracted or the listing price. A later appraisal for First National Bank valued the property at $1.2 million, Girardi said.

The three later sold the land and paid off the bank, Girardi said.

Kovacs was also indicted by the grand jury last year, but a judge dismissed the charges for lack of probable cause. The DA’s office appealed the ruling in May 2011 and the original order to dismiss was reversed on Sept. 4, Montgomery said.

Kovacs did not return calls seeking comment.

Girardi said Kovacs is still working as an appraiser. His license is still active and expires at the end of the year, according to the Colorado Division of Regulatory Agencies.

“It’s just mind-boggling,” Girardi said. “Now that he has been re-charged, I don’t think he should be out doing appraisals.”